Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., left, and Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump both speak during a Republican presidential primary debate at The University of ... more

Photo: David J. Phillip

Editorial: Don’t expect next four years to be better than last eight

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Sadly, it is hard to expect our country will be better off four years from now.

We have watched too many debates to give us any confidence that those trying to get elected really care about making America better. They, for the most part, just want to get elected.

And getting elected in 2016 appears to be more about running a “American Idol” campaign than a substantive, issue-oriented campaign.

Yes, this started and has been exacerbated by the Donald J. Trump effect. As Ken Herman so accurately said in a column that appeared in Sunday’s Reporter-Telegram op-ed page, he is a master at playing to an audience.

He has manipulated the media. He has carved out more free air time, turned the debates into unwatchable debacles and has led other candidates to act like children in an attempt to fight at his level.

Herman is right. We should do away with audiences at debates. We will go one step further. The Republican and Democratic national committees should require debates be based on individual topics rather than the current catch-all formats that leaves us feeling like we have seen the same information over and over.

Still, what does it say about debates that leave us shaking our heads about tone, temperament and content? This isn’t about political correctness, opinion about the alleged establishment or fondness for a particular candidate.

This is about getting it right. No one, by what they have seen in a vast majority of the debate coverage, can tell you for sure who would serve our country most capably when it comes to the debt climbing toward $21 billion. No one can say for sure which candidate really would be the best qualified commander and chief for the troops abroad and those returning from war. No one can say who really is on Americans’ side when it comes to health care, the proper size and role of government, our country’s decaying infrastructure, flailing economy and energy policies.

Why is that? Well, these debates are set up for one-liners and skimming the surface of issues, not holding candidates accountable for their positions.

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Maybe most Americans are comfortable electing another leader based on sayings such as “hope and change.” Maybe we really do prefer the horse race and 140-character campaigns. We would argue it didn’t work for the country in 2008 or 2012 and will accelerate the downward spiral America is on right now. Whether it’s the economy, foreign policy, entitlements, budget deficits, education, immigration and the direction of the Supreme Court, we must demand better of those who participate in the process.

Once that man or woman is in office there isn’t the opportunity to vote him or her off the island, and we are not sure what our country might look like four years from now if Americans get another election wrong.